Page 157 of Architecti
“You’re wrong,” he snarls.
“You trapped the wrong fucking angel, and you used Lucy to do it.And now she’s in jeopardy because an entire fucking society wants Architecti back.”
He pulls a hand over his face.“You don’t understand.I had to do it.”
“Do what, Ignatius?You’re not saying anything helpful and every second we stay here, Lucy is in danger.”
“If the Societas have her, I know where they’ll have taken her…”
“Just like that?”I say, suspicion narrowing my eyes.
“It’s not necromantic physics, Midnight.They want to resurrect Architecti, where do you think they’ll be?”
It takes a second.But then I scold myself for not thinking of it earlier and going straight there.“The basement.As close to the Veil as they can get safely.”
He swallows, his skin turning grey.“We have to get her back or…”
“What did you do?”I say, stepping away from him.
“There’s a reason the Societas can’t release Architecti.”
“Speak faster, Ignatius…” And I know I’m playing with fire.If I spoke to him at any other time like this, he’d probably reap my soul there and then.But tonight is different.Tonight is happening because he fucked up and I am here to help.
“Architecti is an angel.She’s celestial.You can’t just use any old magic to bind them.It’s like trying to trap a wraith with a shoelace.”
“What did you use?”A chill settles in my core.
Ignatius has never seemed old, always youthful in that way only immortals can pull off.
But right now, he seems as ancient as the gods themselves.
“Ignatius… what did you use?”
He blinks, startled by my question.He swallows hard and finally looks at me.
“The Veil.I used the fabric of the Veil.If they release her, they bring down the Veil, too.”
47
Lucy
Ipeel my eyes open.My head pounds, a hammering throb that’s close to a hangover.I must have been drugged.How someone managed to abduct me in the middle of exam day, I don’t know, but then I suppose everyone was too busy with the exams to notice one missing professor.
There’s not much light, though there must be sconces filled with flaming lanterns somewhere because a dim glow illuminates my surroundings.
I’m in some kind of cell.The walls are stone, cool to touch and have a slight silken glaze to them.
Outside the cell seems to be a corridor.I squint, straining to see in the flickering lantern light.I make out the end of the corridor and my blood freezes.
It’s the gateway to the Veil.
An enormous stone archway replaces the corridor’s end wall.The stone is a mix of pale, shimmering marble, and dark onyx.The curved stone appears ornate, with finely carved threads twined together like rope—one dark thread, one pale—a representation of the fabric itself.The oldest goyle on campus, Gardon, sits at the peak of the arch.
He must sense me because he turns to glance at me and scowls.
Beneath him, in the archway, hangs a shimmering curtain.The most direct way into and out of the Veil.Though only the most trained necromancers go in and out here.Up on the surface, whenever you cut a hole in the Veil it’s like opening a thin capillary.This portal is a floodgate; you’re essentially slicing the Veil’s jugular.
Why the hell am I down here?
